Apparatus for mechanically operating keyboards of typewriters and the like



Dec. 30, 1947. w. DREWELL 2,433,349

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING KEYBOARDS OF TYPEWRITERS AND THELIKE- Filed Feb. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l I n uentor llorney Dec. 30,1947. w. B. DREWELL APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING KEYBOARDS OFTYPEWRITERS AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1945 InventorDnewcu A ttorney Dec. 30, 1947. w. B. DREWELL- 2,433,349

' APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING KEYBOARDS OF TYPEWRI'IERS AND THELIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Shet s 3e 35 so 22 2O 13 /9 17 39 4 6///A(T//// m Attorney W. B. DREWELL APPARATUS MECHANICALLY OPERATINGKEYBOAR'DS OF TYPEWRITEHS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet4 I nvenlor Dec. 30, 1947. w, DRE-WELL 2,433,349

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERATING KEYBOARDS OF TYPEWRITERS AND THELIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 w In ventor EJmLmMYNRNETT sumAttorney Patented Dec. 30, 1947 APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY OPERAT- INGKEYBOARDS OF TYPEWRITERS AND THE LIKE William Burnett Drewell, Croydon,England, assignor to Creed and Company Limited, Croydon, England, aBritish company Application February 8, 1945, Serial No. 576,799 InGreat Britain February 3, 1944 7 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for mechanically operating keyboardsof typewriters or the like. 4

The testing of machines such as typewriters or keyboard-controlledtelegraph transmitters must involve means whereby the keyboard may beoperated. When large numbers of machines are to be tested, it becomes alengthy and expensive matter to operate keyboards manually.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide automatic meanswhereby a keyboard may be operated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means whereby all thekeys on a keyboard may be operated in any desired sequence whichsequence may be changed when desired.

According to the present invention I provide apparatus for mechanicallyoperating the keyboard of a typewriter or the like comprising actuatlngmembers for the respective keys, means for supporting the said actuatingmembers above the keys of the keyboard, means for reciprocating the saidactuating members towards and away from the keyboardand means forallowing a selected actuating member only to actuate its correspondinkey.

Preferably the means for allowing a selected actuating member nly toactuate its corresponding key comprises a set of combination barsarranged transversely of the actuating members and means for positioningsaid combination bars to present a series of aligned notches to one ofsaid actuating members and an arresting surface to all others.

An embodiment of the invention provided with means for allowing all ofsaid actuating members to be operative in a desired sequence will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view.

Fig. 2 is a front view.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction ofthe arrows.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1

looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figs. 5 and 6 are side views looking in the directions of the arrows 5and 6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a view of the cam shaft;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1. Fig. 10 is a side viewlooking in the direction of the arrow 10 of Fig. 1.

Referringtothe drawings, the apparatus is 2 provided with a plurality ofkey actuating buttons ll, one for each key of the keyboard to be tested.Each button II is supported on the end of the horizontal arm of invertedL-shaped slidable members l2, the apparatus being such and thehorizontal arms of members l2 of such length that a keyboard to betested may be placed under these arms so that the buttons II are overthe corresponding keys. The vertical arm of each member I2 is formedwith a projection [3, Fig. 9, and a common bail l4 lying under theseprojections support the members 12 in the positions shown against thepull of individual springs 15. The bail [4 supports the members [2 insuch position that the latter lie over but out of contact withcombination bars l6 which are slidable combination bars to the right inFig. 4 and to the left in Figs. 1 and 2. The number of combina-- tionbars [6 is dependent upon the number of keys on the keyboard to betested. Five of such bars are shown, which is sufiicient for testingakeyboard having up to thirty-two keys.

In order to move the combination bars length-' wise to present a seriesof aligned notches to the horizontal portion of one of the members l2 adrum 23 is mounted near to one end of the bars [6 and carries on itsperiphery a series of wards 24. When the common returning lever 18 ismoved, as will be explained hereinafter, the combination bars l6 aremoved away from the wards 24 and when the returning lever I8 is restoredto the position shown in the drawing, springs l9 and 20 set them againstthe surface of a ward 24. Each ward. is provided with notches to select.

certain of the bars l6 for further movement than the others and thosebars l6 which are oppositea notch in the ward presented to them will bemoved further, thosebars l 6 that are opposite an uncut portion of awardbeing moved only slightly. Thus for each ward 24 on the drum 23 thecombination bars [6 will be so; in a corresponding manner to present aseries of aligned.

notches to one particular member I2.

The movements of the bail l4 and the common returning lever l8 and therotation of the drum 23 are controlled by cams 25, 26 and 21respectively mounted upon a cam shaft 28. Cam shaft 28 is driven from amotor 29 through gearing 30, 3 I. Cam 26 first acts on bell crank lever32 to rotate retaining lever l8 about its pivot 33 and so draw all, thecombination bars l6, away from. the d; 2 nl he drum- 23 t w ich t ey incontact. Whilst these combination bars are so withdrawn the drum 23 isrotated through one step to bring a fresh ward 24 into place to positionthe combination bars anew. 'I-fhisstepping; movement of the drum 23 isefiectedby-the action of cam 21 on a bell crank lever 34 which in turnoperates a feed lever 35 (Fig; 4a) Eeed lever 35, is urged by a spring36 in such directionlastopre ssl bell crank lever 34 against the cam 21.Feed'lever 35 carries pivoted thereon a pawl 31, held by, a spring 38 inengagement with a ratchetwheel 39 integral with or fastened to drum 23.The feed pawl 31 co-operates with a fixed stop 40:- to pre-\ ventovershoot of the drum at the end of the feeding motion. A retaining;pawl; 4| is provided to, engage a, second; ratchetwheel 39; at theoppcsite side of; the. drum and preventbackwards rotatiQn of: the drum.

Gams 25 of. which there are, two, act upon the ar s ;o a r me pivcted'ib k 43 and to which bail l-4 is, fixed, immediately after combination,bars L6 have been, set tolower bail l4 and hu a ws in o: move e be sdownwards untilg theyrest across the; upper surat iq -wmb ationlb rs "i-Qn fhe e bers L2; will -findbelowita series of aligned notches in thecombination bars permitting; it to: be drawn downwardssuiiiciently tcause the button H carried; thereby to operate the corresponding key;of: th e oa ben th t. he bail, is thenraised s n t el te member.- t, orthe ali ned no c esm e qmbin t on an t n ai ins; all; b z emb sz e Q ithe combination bars.

Thus; at, each revolution! of theshaft, 28, the combinationbars arereset. by award 24,0n drum 273zand a particular key actuated; The wards24; arelmounted: in the drum 231 in such a manner thatthey may-bereadily. interchan ed and by placing-wards 24 in the drum; in a desiredorder allithe keys of;the key board under test may be Qp -atedin anvequir dseque c Alt n t byplacingonly alimited number of kinds of ward 24inthe .drum 2- 3 agivenkeyor alimitednumber of keys may: beoperated:anyvdesired-numberof times.-

The' spindleof; thedrum 23 is fitted; with a barrel: cam 44; (Figwhichoperates a lever 45;so astocause ittoactonce per revolution of the,drum spindle-to tripgairevolution counter 46-.

In order to ensurethe apparatus being in proper position to commence thetesting; of: a keyboard; a disc 41 isprovidecr ononeend of the camsha'lt 28 and is markedwith a spot" 48; That the apparatus-is in correctposition tob associated with. a K YbPFJZQ'. 31519??? y, h p t v q l b s;istincti e: pat, hr u h an, p r ure i ll l llfili iiifinfi illfi l-qInfi e t l l t e cam haf i q i hg sitiprl eio epla in ak ybca benea h weutt s I an con ct n a, power supply,v tq, the motor; 25. a hand wheel.49 is. proided fixed to astnb shaft 50 which is mounted nl lignment withthe; shaft of motor- 28 but is normally held out of, engagementtherewith by the action of a qompr essionspr ing 5l. Thevstub haft- 1mme Rushed: am n gssnlentw th he shaft of motor 29, which it engagesthrough a unidirectional dog type clutch 52.

In order to vary the tension exerted by springs l5 on the actuatingmembers [2, the springs l5 are anchored to a plate 53 to which isfastened a guided block 54. Fixed to the block 54 is a traveller nut 55which is capable of movement up and down a screwed shaft 56., A gearwheel 5'! fixed on the shaft 55 meshes with a gear 58 on a shaft 59extending to the rear of the apparatus where a handwheel 60 is fixedthereto. By rotating the handwheel 60 in one direction or the other thetension of the springs I5 may thus be increased or decreased.

Indication of the; amount of tension employed isgivenby a winter 6|capable of movement up and down and. operated on by one end of a lever62, centrally pivoted, the other end of which is carried, by thetraveller nut 55.

It is clear that the wards 24 and drum 23 may be replaced by other meansof setting the combination bars. Various forms of devices for thisgeneral purpose have been known, heretoforefor example, punched tapcontrolled devices.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for mechanically operating the keyboard of a typewriter orthe like comprising slidable key lever actuating members each providedwith an arm extending to the, key button of the key lever tobe-actuated: and ending in an actuating button facing'saidkey button,common supporting means for said actuating members, mechanicallycontrolled selecting; means for selecting any of said actuating membersfor operation, yielding means foroperating a selected actuating member,means, for-releasing said supporting means upon the setting of saidselecting means to permit. the operation of said yielding means to movethe selected actuating-member to actuate the corresponding key. lever,and controlling means for said supporting means to overcome combinationbars arranged transversely of said actuating members and provided withnotches and means for positioning said combination bars to present aseries of aligned notches to one of said actuating. members and anarresting surface,

to all others of said actuating members, yielding means for operatingaselected actuating member, means for releasing said supportingmeansupon the setting of said selecting means-to permit the operation of saidyielding means to move the selected actuatingmember-to actuate thecorresponding keylever, and controlling'means for said supporting meansto overcom the yielding means to move the actuating-membersintooperative position.

3. Apparatusaformechanically operating thekeyboard of a typewriter orthelike comprising slidable key lever actuating members each provided withan armextending to the key button ofthe'key lever tobeactuated andendingin an actuating button facing saidk'eybutton, common supporting; meansfor saidr actuating members, mechanically controlled selecting means:for selecting any of said actuating members for operation, the saidselecting means comprising a set of combination bars arrangedtransversely of said actuating members and provided with notches andmeans to position said combination bars to present a series of alignednotches to one of said actuating members and an arresting surface to allothers of said actuating members, said positioning means comprising astep-by-step operated drum provided with wards, means to move saidcombination bars towards and from said drum including spring meansurging said bars towards said drum, yielding means for operating aselected actuating member, means for releasing said supporting meansupon the setting of said selecting means to permit the operation of saidyielding means to move the selected actuating member to actuate thecorrespondin key lever, and controlling means for said supporting meansto overcome the yielding means to move the actuating members intoinoperative position.

4. Apparatus for mechanically operating the keyboard of a typewriter orthe like comprising slidable key lever actuating members each providedwith an arm extending to the key button of the key lever to be actuatedand ending in an actuating button facing said key butt0n,. commonsupporting means for said actuating members, mechanically controlledselecting means for selecting any of said actuating members foroperation, the said selecting means comprising a set of combination barsarranged transversely of said actuating members and provided withnotches and means to position said combination bars to present a seriesof aligned notches to one of said actuating members and an arresting surface to all others of said actuating members, springs urging saidcombination bars into engagement with the positioning means, means towithdraw said combination bars from the positioning means and to releasesaid combination 7 bars after the positioning means has been set for afresh selection, yielding means for operating a selected actuatingmember, means for releasing said supporting means upon the setting ofsaid selectin means to permit the operation of said yielding means tomove the selected actuating member to actuate the corresponding keylever, and controlling means for said supporting means to overcome theyielding means to move the actuating members into inoperative position.

5. Apparatus for mechanically operating the keyboard of a typewriter orthe like comprising slidable key lever actuating members each pro videdwith an arm extending to the key button of the key lever to be actuatedand ending in an actuating button facing said key button, commonsupporting means for said actuating members, mechanically controlledselecting means for selecting any of said actuating members foroperation, yielding means for operating a selected actuating membercomprising a plurality of springs adjustable as to tension by meanscomprising a movable anchor plate to which one end of each spring isfastened, a traveler nut fixed to said anchor plate, a screw shaftcooperating with said traveler nut, a hand wheel at the exterior of theapparatus, and gearing means operable by said hand wheel to operate saidscrew shaft, means for releasing said supporting means upon the settingof said selecting means to permit the operation of said yielding meansto move the selected actuating member to actuate the corre- 6 spondingkey lever, and controlling means for said supporting means to overcomethe yielding means to move the actuating members into inoperativeposition.

6. Apparatus for mechanically operating the keyboard of a typewriter orthe like comprising slidable key lever actuating members each providedwith an arm extending to the key button to be actuated by the saidactuating member and ending in an actuating button facing the said keybutton, a yielding means for each actuating member tending to urge itinto operative position, a common bail for said actuating members forretaining said members in the inoperative position, a set of combinationbars arranged transversely of said actuating members and provided withnotches, a recessed step-by-step operated pattern'device for engagementwith said combination bars to set the same, springs arranged to urge thecombination bars towards the said pattern device to effect the settingof said combination bars, means for releasing the said bail after thesetting of the combination bars to permit the movement of said actuatingmembers towards the notched surfaces of the combination bars and thedropping into a series of aligned notches of the actuating membercorresponding to the particular setting of the combination bars, thuspermitting the yielding means to actuate the corresponding key lever bymeans of the said actuating member and the actuating button, means forwithdrawing after the actuation of a key lever all of said actuatingmembers by means of said bail into inoperative position, and meanseffective after such withdrawal to advance the said pattern device byone step for another selection.

7. Apparatus for mechanically operating the keyboard of a typewriter orthe like comprising slidable key lever actuating members each providedwith an arm extending to the key button of the key lever to be actuatedand ending in an actuating button facing said key button, commonsupporting means for said actuating members, mechanically controlledselecting means for selecting any of said actuating members foroperation, the said selectin means comprising a set of combination barsarranged transversely of said actuating members and provided withnotches and means to position said combination bars to present a seriesof aligned notches to one of said actuating members and an arrestingsurface to all others of said actuating members, said positioning meanscomprising a step-by-step operated drum provided with interchangeablecode wards for obtaining difierent required cycles of operation of thekey actuating members and means to move said combination bars towardsand from said drum including spring means urging said bars towards saiddrum, yielding means for operating a selected actuating member, meansfor releasing said supportin means upon the setting of said selectingmeans to permit the operation of said yielding means to move theselected actuating member to actuate the corresponding key lever, andcontrolling means for said supporting means to overcome the yieldingmeans to move the actuatin members into inoperative position.

WILLIAM BURNETT DREWELL.

(References on following page)

